Most property owners would love to see an end to property taxes in Texas, but no one can agree on what should replace it. While waiting to testify at the House Ways & Means Committee hearing last night, I got to hear testimony on HB 508 authored by Representative Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham). HB 508 would direct the comptroller to conduct a study examining the implementation of a transaction tax in Texas.
What is a transaction tax? The bill defines it as a tax that:(1) taxes every transaction that occurs in this state; and (2) is
electronically collected by financial institutions using banking data systems
that are used in other economies for that purpose."
Witnesses testifying in support of the bill went on to describe it as a tax that would take a percentage of every single electronic financial transaction affecting Texas accounts. These could include debit card transactions, check payments, payroll direct deposits, brokerage account transactions, and many more. If you want to hear for yourself, view the video here and skip ahead to the 1:48:00 mark. (it is 4/29/09 - 7:05 p.m. to 10:53 p.m.).
Josh Estes
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